Making polenta is the easiest thing in the world, and can be a nice complement to many meat dishes. I stirred a secret ingredient into my polenta the other night, and combined with the slow-cooked beef short ribs, it was too yummy for color TV.

(Name that movie.)

First, bring 4 1/2 cups of water to a boil.

Grab some yellow cornmeal—a little less than a cup. (I doubled the recipe because I’m always afraid of not having enough food. I think it’s because my grandmother endured The Depression.)

Pour cornmeal into the boiling water in a thin stream, whisking as you pour. This will prevent big clumps from forming.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of salt as you cook. Add a couple of teaspoons of water here and there as needed if the polenta seems too thick.

At the end of the cooking time, stir in 2 tablespoons butter….

And…are you ready? Goat cheese!

Oh, yes.

Yes, yes, yes.

And you want to add a lot—at least 4 ounces. The flavor of the cornmeal is strong, and you need to get enough goat cheese in there to make a difference.

Stir until the cheese is totally melted. I have some lumps, but please don’t hold that against me. It’s a foodblogging, holding-my-own-camera-and-trying-to-whisk-at-the-same-time kind of thing.

If you put down the camera, your polenta will not have lumps.

Put a generous amount of polenta on a dinner plate, and swirl to create a nice bed for the ribs.

Then grab a couple of short ribs from the dutch oven.

Nestle them, bone down, right on top.

You can’t know how good this smells until you cook it. Guests will kiss you!

Isn’t the polenta pretty? Such a nice change from mashed potatoes.

You can go one step further with the cooking liquid by straining it and cooking it down for several minutes. But I like to just go for it and spoon it, unstrained and unreduced, right over the top.

Not a lot. Just a little.

Oh, baby.

You will love this, guys. Promise.

But let’s have a closer look at the meat.

There are no words. I won’t even try.

Hungry yet?

I’ll stop there. I think you’ve seen what you need to see.

Make this, my friends. It’s simple, easy, and out-of-this world delicious. Let me know how you like it!

Here’s the printable for the polenta. (I’ll include the rib recipe too, in case you missed it yesterday.)

Preparation Instructions

In a large dutch oven, cook pancetta over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.

Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat to medium.

Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

Add broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.

Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (Can also refrigerate mixture, then remove solid fat from the top.)

Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy polenta, spooning a little juice over the top.

KAY GUEST On Tuesday, November 17 at 9:59 am

GREAT RECIPE!! And this is gluten free too! Did you know that many of your recipes are gluten free? You have so many readers, it would be wonderful if you could mention celiac disease in one of your blogs. You are the best!

Sally On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:03 am

I was pretty sure the surprise ingredient was going to be dairy of some sort. I usually use butter and parmesan, but I’ll have to give the goat cheese a try.

I was raised by parents who lived during the depression and I’d never make more food than I think I need. It’s not a good use of my resources and the more there is the more is eaten and we don’t need to consume that much.

18

Amy in Atlanta On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:04 am

What a great alternative to mashed potatoes. Gotta try it, thanks!

19

KAY GUEST On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:05 am

“Too yummy for color TV”? Ree, I know almost all the quotes from movies…but I don’t know that one! One question for you, when you are at your meet and greets for your books signings…does it make you think of a certain movie when someone tells you, “I am your number one fan.” ?

20

Hanneke On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:06 am

wow, now I’m hungry!! Never thought of goatcheese in polenta, can’t wait to try it, thx!

I grew up with this (well, without the yummy cheese). We always called it cornmeal mush. I’ve always thought polenta must be something different – more gourmet. Especially since I buy it cold in tubes from the store.

My dad would slice up leftover cornmeal mush and fry it in butter the next day as a snack. Yummm!

22

Susan Mealiea On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:10 am

Ree,
How do you think Feta would work as substitute for the Goat Cheese?

There’s usually not much guessing when it comes to your movie quotes…It’s Steel Magnolias! (Only the BEST movie ever!) (But I believe it’s “You’re too twisted for color tv”) but I’m willing to overlook that in light of this yummy recipe.

I’m a relatively new follower, and I just have to say that your recipes are amazing.

I have recently started to experiment using goat cheese and I have to say, the idea of goat cheese in polenta is just about the greatest thing I have ever heard. I can’t wait to try it.

44

Monie On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:31 am

I definitely want to try this. I’m feeling a little tentative about it all for some strange reason…maybe it’s the ribs…I mean the actual bone sticking out thing going on…can’t quite put my finger on it…but my stomach is telling me to go for it!

45

Sally On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:36 am

I just thought of something…if you don’t have/don’t like goat cheese, cream cheese or mascarpone would work well, too!

(We’ll see which side wins out when I’m at the grocery store this week.)

56

Pam B On Tuesday, November 17 at 10:48 am

I raise goats and had goat ribs in the freezer that I didn’t know what to do with. Couldn’t wait for the polenta recipe, so I made the ribs last night. Soooooooo YUMMY!!! And now that I see that your secret polenta ingredient is goat cheese, which I make in 5lb batches, I’m going to have to make the polenta to go with the leftover ribs for my lunch today! Hubby won’t eat polenta, and doesn’t like me messin’ with his mashers either, so it’s plain old-fashioned mashed taters for him.

I have to give polenta another try. It’s been my only fail. I made it once and it came out the consistency of playdough. It was disgusting.

60

Lisaiz On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:03 am

We made the short ribs last night – delicious and easy! But now I’m so sad that we didn’t have your polenta with them – it DOES look like the perfect accompaniment! YUMMMMMMM I guess I’ll have to make the short ribs again next week!

61

Kathy On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:03 am

WOW… so yummy… polenta and goat cheese… any cheese…. ohh the posibilities… polenta and blue cheese? with beet salad…. maybe that is stretching it

Shari from Ohio On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:15 am

um….YUM. Oh my…polenta has never looked so good. And don’t tell my mom I said that!

For the record…I always cook a lot, too…my grandmother surviving the depression and all…

70

Stephanie S On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:18 am

mmmmmmmmm. this is just wrong!

71

Cheryl On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:20 am

No one has commented on “Too twisted for color TV”! One of my all time faves, Steel Magnolias! If you have never visited Natchitoches, LA where the movie was filmed, it is a must-visit, especially at Christmastime. They have SUCH the light show and fireworks on the river all through December. You can take a trolley tour to the area homes used in the movie. Fun stuff!

72

grannynanny4u On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:21 am

Yummy! The family is in for a real treat with these. Love goat cheese and short ribs are delish, great combo. Thanks Ree!

After Bossy is done adding things to her finished polenta (like cream and grated Pecorino and caramelized onions and roasted red peppers and herbs), she puts the whole thing into a casserole dish and sprinkles with freshly grated Pecorino cheese and some grated lemon rind, and bakes the sucker until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve with meat as suggested. Best polenta ever.

74

Sheila On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:27 am

#3 said
“I’m salivating right now. Mercy”

I can only echo her . . . .

Today is my dd’s 16th birthday and she wants Chicken Divan for dinner. It’s usually a roast beef. Tastes change!

Come on down south & I’ll try this with some stone ground grits…looks delish! Thanks for the idea!

76

Helen On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:29 am

Geewhiz, I never knew that polenta was nothing more than cornmeal and water! Granted I have never eaten it nor tried goat cheese. But, I have consumed my weight in grits over the years. Hot grits with butter is to die for! I may try to concoct some polenta now since grits are one of my favorite foods. Seems like garlic cheese grits are in the same category as this recipe. Have you tried those, Ree? Those are really popular in Texas.

nerissa On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:37 am

Ernestine On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:39 am

We love polenta — always with 1/2 c. of grated Parmesan and then sometimes enhanced with Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and basil or some other concoction. My favorite way, however, is with salsa roja or tomatillo sauce in the bottom of the pan, triangles of polenta, and a mushroom,garlic,zucchini, red bell pepper mixture flavored with cumin and fresh herbs interspersed between…and all topped with fresh mozzarella and baked until heated through and cheese melted. Yummmmo! And a beautiful dish to serve, too.

82

Tiff On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:43 am

LOL, um not gonna lie, being a vegetarian that picture looked like an ewey gooey brownie w/ some sort of heavenly caramel/molasses icing drizzle…not a short rib w/ gravy….surprise! lovin’ ya more ‘n my luggage~!

83

Anonymous On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:44 am

this looks really good!! I can’t wait until I have an opportunity to try it. thanks PW!!

Is the Pancetta in the meat dish necessary though? is there something else I can use instead? just wondering, I don’t usually have that on hand!

84

Paula On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:46 am

Ree, I love the ability to print the recipes right from the blog source; however, the full page recipe is sometimes 2 pages. Any way to put it all on just one page?

85

eclecticdeb On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:52 am

OMG…I made soft polenta w/ Goat Cheese Saturday night !! To go with the braised Lamb Shanks that had been bubbling on the stove for about 3 hours. It was a planned “accident”….the meal started with a Frisee salad with Asparagus, Bacon, and Goat Cheese…and I thought: “How bad could it be to put the rest of the goat cheese in the polenta”? Yummy!!!!

86

ms ellie On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:56 am

Polenta–seems like the love child of grits and cornbread. Looks like heaven on a fork.
Oh, and Steel Magnolia is the movie.

87

Gratsia On Tuesday, November 17 at 11:56 am

I just got some short ribs and wondered “what do I do with these?” Now I know.

89

Dave G On Tuesday, November 17 at 12:02 pm

I never, never, never understood the notion of adding cornmeal (or grits) to boiling water, where you have to sprinkle it in judiciously and stir vigorously to avoid lumps. For goodness sakes, add the polenta to cold water, stir it in, and bring it up to a boil. It works perfectly.